More troublesome: AmeriCorps workers are themselves being encouraged to sign up for food stamp benefits — giving new meaning to “hands-on” (or rather, “hands-out”) experience.

An AmeriCorps blogger provided a thorough advice manual on working the system: “Plenty of jobs come with perks,” the worker wrote. “For some these come in the form of company cars, dental insurance, or a spending allowance. For VISTAs, it’s food stamps.” The step-by-step guide tells AmeriCorps workers: “If you apply for food stamps after you become an AmeriCorps VISTA member, you will have a decreased food stamp allotment. So if you’re debating applying, you should do it now.”

Another AmeriCorps tip for those preparing for their in-person eligibility interview with food stamp administrators: “These social service agencies are only open during regular business hours, so you will probably have to take the day off (some sites don’t count it against your 20 vacation/sick days).” Oh, and don’t forget to “bring a book.” Says the wise AmeriCorps welfare-system expert: “While food stamps are handled by a different agency in every state, they all generally have a reputation that mirrors that of the DMV: too little staff, too high demand, and wait times that can border on extreme. While my own wait was only three hours, I’ve heard some VISTAs waiting as long as eight. Yes, I know you may have an appointment, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to see you at that time. So bring a book, an iPod, that screenplay you’ve been tinkering with — whatever, because you’re going to be waiting a while.”

Make no mistake: Americans are suffering as a result of this profligate administration’s job-stifling and anti-economic growth policies. No one questions the need for a basic safety net to care for those most in need of help. But the community-organizer-in-chief is squandering billions on failed Alinsky-ite rackets that are geared toward ever-expanding service not to the individual, but to the insatiable state.

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